This Week’s Industry News
Compiled by the Rocket Clicks Team
Top Stories
GMB Adding Collections to Products
Google My Business is testing a new feature that lets businesses add collections of products to their business listings, rather than services, which means that your business may not see the option to add services anymore. For each product collection you want to include, you can can display the product name, 1,000 character description, price and a photo. These collections will display in your Knowledge Panel. Source: Search Engine Journal
Google’s New Click-To-Message Ad Features
Google announced that their click-to-message ads now have email forwarding. So, texts from users can now be delivered via email. Meaning that advertisers no longer have to provide a phone number in order to use message extensions. Advertisers can also now send automatic responses to users messages. And, message reporting will eventually include message conversions, which is defined by, “the number of communications it typically takes for a user to complete the intended conversion”. Source: Search Engine Land
Local Pack Additions
Google seems to be rolling out a new design for the mobile version of the local pack. Google is now showing heavier graphical layouts with wider and larger images that allow you to scroll and slide through each photo directly in the maps listing. Google Maps is also allowing users to follow a business in the Maps app. After following, users will receive the latest news in the “For You” tab like events, offers and updates. Source: Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal
Users Can More Easily Delete Search Data & Control Ad Settings
Google updated their privacy controls and now users can delete their search activity and control the ads they see right from the Google Search home page. This means it may become more difficult for advertisers to target individuals because users have easier access to delete search data. Users can also react faster to block ads they don’t want to see. However, it may also help advertisers avoid serving ads to people who are unlikely to respond. Source: Search Engine Land
Analysis:
Ways to Increase Mobile Conversions
Practical Ecommerce gives tips on how to increase conversions from mobile devices including making the navigation simple and have the catalog, customer service, shopping cart and checkout easily accessible. Describe products using simple word and graphics to eliminate jargon. “Add to cart” “signup” and other key conversion buttons should be visible on all of the main pages. “Buy” buttons should load above the scroll line and cart and checkout buttons should be visible no matter where a visitor is on the site. Finally, establish trust to gain return customers by displaying affiliations, payment icons, testimonials, reviews and return and exchange policies. Source: Practical Ecommerce
4 Reasons Facebook Ads are Better Than Google Ads
Michael Knight shares 4 reasons why he prefers Facebook to Google ads. First is the goal types; he likes that Facebook has more options than just clicks and conversions as goals. He likes using the awareness and/or reach goal to get in front of more people and create more engagement. Second, he prefers how Facebook focuses their targeting around the user type which allows advertisers to get in front of people during their normal routine and provide relevant content. Third he prefers Facebook’s larger options of ad formats including carousel, video, slideshow, and instant experiences. And finally, Facebook often provides better results for campaigns with obscure keywords and audiences that are difficult to reach through search. Source: Michael Knight, PPC Hero
